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#GamerGate – More Corruption and Dismissive Behavior

I watched a new video by the Investigamer today and I learned something new about the whole debacle surrounding GamerGate. I was prepared to let it rest, but this is worth talking about, because it adds a whole new layer of corruption to a story that was already bursting with it. For real, this has long since left behind its humble origins of one woman and her unethical relationships. It has grown to encompass the entire industry of gaming journalism, with a new revelation showing how not only is it all-encompassing, it is coordinated as well. This does not bode well for people who want honest coverage of video game news.

So, what is the new revelation? Well, when I originally commented on the retaliatory actions of the gaming sites to the valid points that gamers were raising about the ethical standards of their practices, I said that it all felt very coordinated, to me. For real, it was like every site knew exactly what to say. That felt MIGHTY convenient. Turns out, it was convenient. A new piece of information has been brought to light that shows that gaming journalists and editors from a bunch of different publications have a private communication group on Google called Gamejournopros. In a leaked email that went through the group, they discussed how best to handle dilemma, with the phrase –

I’m not even going to give the bullshit “journalism ethics” excuse for these attacks the time of day.

Did you all catch that? They don’t even care enough about their own integrity to defend their ethical standards. What the hell is that?! When 14 different news sites post basically the same article, lambasting gamers and making us all seem like terrible people, and the people who wrote them are in cahoots with one-another via a group on Google, the lack of ethical standards has to be addressed. These people have NO interest in reporting the truth. They only care about what sounds good to their party line. This has to be talked about. Because there is another piece to this puzzle that needs to be looked at.

Recently an older feminist, who is much more educated and studied than the likes of Anita Sarkeesian and Zoe Quinn, made a video asking if video games were sexist. She brought up the issues that these women asked, using the term “hipsters with degrees in cultural studies” to describe them. That’s just awesome. She did some compelling research, including something that sees to have TOTALLY slipped the mind of women like Anita Sarkeesian – talking to gamers! For real, she went out and actually talked to gamers and got to know the medium that she was talking about. She also raised the point that people like me have been railing about for a while – that women like Sarkeesian cherry-pick and take examples completely out of context in order to help their narrative.

The woman, Christina Summers (AKA, The Factual Feminist), raises a lot of good points about how this idea that video games are spreading misogyny, homophobia and racism is unfounded, because the people who are part of the key demographic are among the most open-minded people in the western world. This world of sexism that women like Sarkeesian paint us gamers as being a part of just doesn’t exist the way that they think it does. Naturally, using strong evidence and reason to point out something against the party line that Gamejournopros is a part of didn’t sit well with them. Especially when she did a little jab at one of their big stars – Anita Sarkeesian and her ilk.

Once-again, in what is CLEARLY a coordinated effort, several articles come out that are completely dismissive of the points that this woman makes, claiming that she is nothing but a pawn of a conservative think-tank. Naturally, a minor amount of research shows that these accusations are totally baseless and that the people who make them don’t have a fucking clue what they’re talking about. This woman has a Ph,D. in Psychology, along with a Bachelor’s Degree. She was a professor in Ethics are Clark University and is currently a respected scholar at the NON-PARTISAN think-tank the American Enterprise Institute. If there is anybody who might know a thing or two about how to actually talk about something academically, it is her. What is Anita Sarkeesian’s credentials, again? Oh, right, a Bachelor’s in Communication Studies and a Master’s in Social and Political Thought (seriously, WTF is that degree good for?!). I can totally see who is the superior mind in this debate.

Crazier still is the fact that a lot of the articles that dismissed Summers were using the fact that she actually talked to gamers as a reason not to take her seriously. For real, because she actually talked to the subjects that she was wanting to discuss, she should not be taken seriously. How the fuck can ANY of the publications who made this argument take themselves seriously anymore? I can’t! For real, all their credibility has just up and jumped out the window, because they have just confessed that they don’t even care what the people they are supposed to represent have to say. What the fuck is wrong with these people?!

This is beyond insulting. These people are worthless. They have no integrity. They are an insult to journalism. They don’t care that they are yellow as fuck. They don’t care that they are pandering to whoever they are fucking and the friends of those people. They don’t care about even engaging the crowd of people that they are supposed to represent. Thank Cthulhu that the gaming companies don’t care about these people. They are too smart for that. They have actual RESEARCH to back up their work. These journalists cater to people who despise gamers like me. That, more than anything else offends me.

Until next time, a quote,

“Are there video games that are rife with sexism? Is that true? Do they promote a culture of misogyny and violence that must be dismantled? Well, my answer is – no.” -Christina Summers